Growing Into a Family
A Kid’s Guide to Living in a Blended Family
Abbey Press
With thanks to my own sisters, with whom
I have shared the rough and tumble and joy of blending.
And with thanks most of all to Ryan, my next-of-kin.
A Message to Parents, Teachers, and Other Caring Adults
The secret to blending families is there is no secret. It’s scary and awesome and ragged and perfect and always changing. Love and laugh hard. Try again tomorrow. But that’s life advice, right?
—Mir Kamin
Families blend together for a variety of reasons. Widowed or divorced parents choose to remarry. An ailing or elderly relative can no longer live alone and moves in with his son’s family. A family chooses to adopt a child. Economic circumstances force family members to combine households. Regardless of why it happens, creating a blended family is a process of transition that takes time, patience, humor, compassion, and a whole lot of conversation.
Therefore, this book has been designed not so much to be read bywith